Dp X Mha - Blog Posts

Got bored and decided to draw Toga and Danny, mostly just wanted an excuse to show what ‘Liminality Counts as a Quirk…Right?’ Toga looks like

full body Phantom because I have brainrot

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 9

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 9: Breaking News!

Summary: Although the Hero Commission was not able to suppress the knowledge of the vigilante ‘Phantom’, they were still able to multiplate the information surrounding him by releasing fake articles and bribing/restricting news sources, so as not to worry the public.

Word Count: 1052

BREAKING NEWS: League of Villains reveals themself and attack Hosu, leaving countless injured. Thanks to the heroes, there have been no reported deaths. Stain, the infamous hero killer that has been terrorizing the streets of Japan, has finally been caught by #2 hero Endeavor during the panic. 

BREAKING NEWS: Three creatures called ‘Nomus’ were captured last night and are now being studied by the Hero Comisson. Origins are unknown but are believed to come from the League of Villains. If you have any information, please contact 1-800-NOMU or the Hero Commission directly. 

BREAKING NEWS: Vigilante rates skyrocket after Hosu attacks. Witness from the Nomu attacks describe white haired teen saved them. Other reports describe the same figure. Could this be a new vigilante group or something else?

BREAKING NEWS: New vigilante group or freak of nature? The vigilante group, which has been given the name ‘Phantom’ due to their quirks and mysterious nature, have caused experts to scratch their heads. Some witnesses say there was only one vigilante on site with multiple quirks while others insist it was at least 3. Which is true? Read here to hear what the experts have to say. 

BREAKING NEWS: Quirk researchers debunk existence of individuals with multiple quirks. ‘This is a dangerous misconception,’ says quirk expert Yanagimachi Tsuneko. ‘Sometimes, especially as we see the power of quirks grow with each generation, children inherit both of their parents quirks, or they combine to create an entirely new quirk but never more than two…’ CLICK HERE TO READ FULL INTERVIEW.

~—*—*—~

Trending: "Stain" "Endeavor" "Hosu Riots" “Phantom” & “Vigilante Group” 

In a public group chat online:

Mirkosthighs: Have you heard of the new vigilante group?

Nighteyemorelikeayeayeaye @Mirkosthighs: The ones who rescued a bunch of people yesterday?

FriedHawkWings @Mirkosthighs: Group? I thought it was only one guy?

Mirkosthighs @FriedHawkWings: No. All the news outlets are saying it's a group of vigilantes

FriedHawkWings @Mirkosthighs: What no way! Everyone is describing the same dude in interviews

Ghostwatermelon:>  @FriedHawkWings: It’s gotta b a group! They all have diff quirks! An how could 1guy b in all those places at 1nce?

Knight34knight43 @Ghostwatermelon:>: He could have just a speed quirk so it seemed he was everywhere at once

Mirkosthighs @Knight34knight43: Yeah? And also have cold manipulation and flight and enhanced strength?

Knight34knight43 @Mirkosthighs: Well…

#6bmybbygrl @Mirkosthighs: My friend was one of the people he saved. She said he used multiple quirks. 

Ghostwatermelon:> @#6bmybbygrl: O pls. 1 of em prob just has a vers quirk. I wont beleave it til I c it!

#6bmybbygrl @Ghostwatermelon:>: My friend took one but every time it played her phone got all buggy

L3G3GG @#6bmybbygrl: Yeah I was there 2 and the same thing happened to mine

“L3G3GG” MADE A NEW POST:

Video Link: The video shows a fire spreading and people screaming in the background. The camera suddenly zooms around and then the video starts to glitch, the sound and visual becoming static or pixelated. The visuals stop glitching and faces the person recording but the sound is jumbled. 

[POST DELETED]

“Mirkosthighs” REPOSTED A LINK:

BREAKING NEWS: Hero Commission has confirmed the existence of the rumored “Phantoms” vigilante group. 

Ghostwatermelon:> @Mirkosthighs: See! I new it was a group! No way was it just some kid

Leaguereference @Mirkosthighs: Yeah that makes no sense. What quirk would even do that?

Mirkosthighs @Mirkosthighs: I read the whole article. It says they already have possible leads to one of their identities.

FeralGangOrca @Mirkosthighs: I heard a theory that it's a family, that's why they all look the same

Ghostwatermelon:> @FeralGangOrca: Yeah TONS of pple have white hair or they couldve dyed it. And no 1was able to get a good look at their faces! 

GenshinreferenceUwU @Mirkosthighs: Man I’m so excited for when they catch them! Could you imagine if they televised the trail?! 

Knight34knight43 @GenshinreferenceUwU: I feel bad for the kids tho…They obviously just wanted to be heroes

Nighteyemorelikeayeayeaye @Knight34knight43 : Who knows, maybe if they get lucky they get picked up by a pro after they get out of jail

Knight34knight43 @Nighteyemorelikeayeayeaye : I hate our vigilante laws :(

Mirkosthighs @Knight34knight43: Not everyone can be a hero. There has to be rules in place otherwise more people could get hurt

Leaguereference @Mirkosthighs: Apparently Endeavor caught the Hero Killer and one of the Phantoms was in the area

Mirkosthighs @Leaguereference : No way?!

FriedHawkWings @ Mirkosthighs : Wasn’t Stain a part of the LOV?

GenshinreferenceUwU @ FriedHawkWings : Do you think they’re all in kahoots?

Ghostwatermelon:> @GenshinreferenceUwU: Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous! The Phantoms were trying to save every1 if they were rlly w/LOV y not spread out and cause more havoc? Why not help out Stain?

Knight34knight43 @GenshinreferenceUwU: Something doesn’t make sense about all this…

Nighteyemorelikeayeayeaye @Knight34knight43: Well yeah. The hero commission is probably hiding everything for the investigation 

FriedHawkWings @ Knight34knight43 : They’re prob keeping it all classified til they find the kids

🫶

Tomura was pissed! Papers, blogs the TV! All they talked about was STAIN! STAIN! STAIN! They didn’t even make the first page! They were hardly a footnote! If that wasn’t enough, some brat had defeated TWO of his Nomus… Apparently he was some hero wanna be. 

He scratched at his neck. He hated them. Hate. Hate. Hate. 

There were a few articles about him too, less than 5, though you had to dig for them, almost as if they were trying to get buried… But they were there and despite being hidden, they caused almost as much buzz as Stain…

They all said that he was part of some ‘vigilante group’, but Tomura knew better. There was a video online, it was only up for a couple minutes before it and the channel got deleted. The person who took it was either a shit photographer or the video was beyond salvaging. The video was grainy, less than 144p, and all sorts of corrupted, but it showed the brat taking down a Nomu, displaying several different quirks as he fled. 

Cheater! Cheater! Cheater! They weren’t supposed to have a tank like that! His scratching became more intense. The game wasn’t going how it was supposed to! He banged the bar table, but it left no dent in the hardwood. It was so unfair…

The TV buzzed to life, relieving the disfigured face of his teacher. “Tomura,” the voice spoke in static, “I have a new task for you.”

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 8

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 8: Meeting Topic: All For One

Summary: The Hero Commission theorize a link between Phantom and All For One

Word Count: 1672

With the departure of the heroes, only six people were left in the room. Most of them Toshinori trusted; officer Tsukauchi and principle Nezu being longtime friends, along with his mentor, Gran Torino. The two women from the Hero Commission, he didn’t trust them further than this room.  

“Please have a seat, Mr. Yagi.” Ms. Makoto eyed him down, letting her facial features reveal nothing. It was obvious she didn’t like him. In their previous interactions, she had always used his formal name rather than his hero one, like she did everyone else. Toshinori just hummed and took a seat opposite Tsukauchi. “Since you were not present in the last meeting, I will go over what was discussed. The new villain Phantom. Now-” 

“Do we truly know enough about him to call him a ‘villain’” Principal Nezu interrupted. His face held a smile that was as consistent as Yagi’s All Might persona. “I didn’t say anything before, so as not to undermine your authority to the heroes, but don’t you think the Hero Commission is being a little too hasty with their analysis of the situation?” 

“One would think a creature of your intellect should be able to understand how much of a threat he is. In these situations, we must assume the worst as he gave us no other choice.” Her face was held in a tight smile.  

“I hardly think him saving my students,” Young Midoriya, he should not have been in the fight, “along with countless others, is giving you ‘no other choice’ as you chose to call it. We must look at this on all sides. Ignorance will only lead to devastation.” 

“What makes you so quick to defend him? Did you not read his file? Are we lowly humans not smart enough for you to even bother?” She leaned over the table glaring down at him. The stress must really be getting to her.   

“You shouldn’t talk about yourself like that, I’m sure you are very smart,” despite having a level voice, Toshinori would say that principle Nezu was being condescending, “And as for your file, I found it very biased and quick to an unfounded conclusion.” Nezu lifted his tea to his mouth, which must be cold at this point, and closed his eyes as if enjoying its flavor.  

“Enough of this!” Gran Torino yelled out, “The boy has already proven to be dangerous and unpredictable. When he took down the Nomu, my body couldn’t move, not even to save Izuku from that creature…” Gran Torino looked down at his shaking hands, “We know nothing of the boy’s alliances. He has enough in common with All For One, so we should treat him as such” And that was the topic of the meeting. All for One. They all knew it, but a chill spread through the room affecting all but Nezu and Ms. Makoto. After reading the report, however biased it was, Toshinori could feel there was a connection between the two. He knew it was almost impossible for the man to be back, but dread filled his heart and his missing stomach ached at the thought.  

“We cannot judge what we do not know. Phantom had no hostility to the heroes except when they moved to attack him, and even then, he didn’t fight back, even though he clearly could have. I do not believe that he and the League are working together. There are too many inconsistencies.” Nezu's logic was reasonable and his voice firm, despite that, Toshinori couldn’t find much comfort in his words. 

Of course, they were working together. Phantom was released alongside the rest of the Nomus. Not only that, but only a few blocks away from where Stain was caught, was a LOV sighting, as if they were watching how he did out in the field. It was hard to draw up a different conclusion. 

“Who cares about the Inconsistencies? If there is even a 1% chance they are working together, we must assume that is the reality. We cannot wait for the boy to reveal whose side he is on and risk harm to the public. All for One is too dangerous to take that chance.” Toshinori understood Gran Torino. He and Toshinori had already lost too much to All For One to take that chance. He wiped some of the blood that was leaking from his mouth.  

“You are letting your fear blind you.” The words bathed Toshinori in ice water, yet Nezu continued, “He is just a child. A child we can still save. Would you really be willing to kill someone just to find out that they were innocent in the end?” 

“If the other option is to let even more innocents die, yes” Gran Torino was colder than Toshinori had even seen him. His mind would not be changed.  

“What inconsistencies were you speaking of before, Principle Nezu?” Toshinori didn’t want to see his mentor like this, so he quickly changed the topic.  

Nezu, taking the hint, moved on without letting anyone else speak, “Wouldn’t Phantom have caused more chaos rather than mercy? Wouldn’t he have helped Stain? Speaking of Stain, I don’t believe he’s a part of the League either, but that's a different topic. My point is- he has done nothing to ally himself with the League, and don’t say he’s trying to trick us or gain our trust, that is a flimsy theory.” He looked briefly at Gran Torino, “He would’ve stayed with the heroes, boasting his accomplishments, instead of fleeing the scene” 

Toshinori knew Gran Torino had much he wanted to say, but instead he sat quietly in his chair like a toddler.  

“What is your theory then,” Ms. Makoto, obviously not pleased with how the conversation was going, questioned.  

“I have several.” Nezu said with a glint in his eye, “Many of them you don’t need to know, but I will tell you this one.” Nezu stood up on his chair, but it didn’t give him any more height, “He is a Nomu.” tension filled the room at the implication. “At least that’s only one of my theories. Not enough information to prove or disprove the others.” He sat back down as if unaware of the bomb he just dropped.  

If that was the case, Toshinori couldn’t imagine what the poor boy had been through. All For One had abused and isolated his own brother, and that was his way of being ‘kind’. The boy must have been experimented on for god knows how long to be that stable with that many quirks. Even the Nomus, who were engineered to handle more than one quirk, had lost all facets of their humanity. Why had this boy not suffered the same fate? Perhaps it had to do with the boy’s quirk before All For One’s interference? Or maybe…  

“Principal Nezu! Are you saying this boy is All For One’s son?!” It would explain the resemblance and how the kid was able to handle so many quirks… 

“I didn’t say that,” Nezu said with a smile. This guy would suck to play poker with. “But the two could be related.” 

“If that's the case, why go against his own father?” Tsukauchi reasoned. 

“You just said why.” Nezu gave no explanation.  

“Are you saying this is some kind of teenage rebellion?” Ms. Makoto rubbed the bridge of her nose.  

“It could be.” Nezu responded back, “Regardless of if this is indeed the case, I would like to have him attend UA if you capture him. We have the same goal, and I’m sure he would prosper in a less harsh environment.” 

“PRINCIPLE NEZU YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!” Toshinori had transformed in his panic.  

“You really think the Hero Commission would hand him over to you when he is apprehended? We have much more efficient ways of molding youths into becoming heroes than your academy could ever provide.” She had a smirk hidden in her eyes. No, a challenge.  

“If you think so.” Nezu sidestepped, “But that is if you are able to catch him.” 

“What?!” Ms. Makoto was starting to get pissed. 

“If UA is able to take him into custody, we will not turn him over to the Hero Commission. He will remain under our care, and we will give him the education and environment he deserves.” Nezu closed his eyes again and nodded, satisfied. Ms. Makoto looked ready to explode.  

“You do not have the authority to do such a thing.” she spoke with her teeth clenched. She was still trying to hold it in. 

“I very much do. UA has been independent from the Commission for some time now.” Nezu jumped down from his chair and started walking towards the door, “Make sure to tell your president that this is the deal.” 

Slowly as if the spell that bound them in the meeting lifted, everyone except the HC employees left, following after him. Even Gran Torino has left the room. 

Toshinori sent one last look at the remaining occupants, before fully exiting the room, and bowed, “Have a good rest of your morning, Ladies...” Ms. Makoto was pale. He shut the door behind them. 

🐁 

“Are you sure that's a good idea, sir,” Yagi Toshinori asked, walking slightly behind Nezu in the corridor.  

“Of course it is, Yagi. We can’t leave that boy out there where All for One could get to him.” He had a lot to plan if he really wanted the boy at UA. He would need a full medical exam and maybe even a therapist, who knows what horrors he had to endure. A hand unconsciously raised to his scar. They have a few things in common… 

One thing was for certain. 

If the Hero Commission captures him, he’ll be hardly better off than with All For One.  

If UA was able to take him in, it would be a chance at a real life. At freedom. 

A life of violence, or a life of freedom? 

It was a race to get to the boy first.

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 7

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 7: Meeting Topic: Phantom

Summary: The Hero Commission hosts a meeting about the mysterious Phantom threat

Word Count: 2178

It had been a few hours after the Stain and Phantom incident. Every hero who had interacted with the unknown vigilante was called in for a meeting after they discussed what would be done with The Hero Killer. Taishiro, better known as the BMI hero: Fat Gum, had been waiting 3 hours in a white hallway. He could’ve gone home, washed off the grime and mental weight of the day, but he was plagued with a prickling anxiety. He was one of the only heroes who talked with the boy, so his information and perspective was critical.  

The office doors swung open and a small cluster of drones in suits exited.  

“The meeting will start in a few minutes.” A woman by the door called out to the hallway. She turned back inside but left the door open. There were only a few other people, all of them heroes, in the hall waiting with him. Most of them were in their civilian clothes, but like him, the rest were still draped in their hero costumes.  

No one moved for a moment, so Taishiro decided it must be him to make the first move. In stilted motions, he got up and approached the open door. The doorway was wide and tall to accommodate those with larger physiques. Taishiro had already shed the weight of his quirk earlier that night and went through without fuss. There were people still remaining in the room. They all had tired expressions, as if being there sucked all life out, which made sense as they were previously discussing The Hero Killer. At the front of the table was Endeavor, and although he always looked angry to Taishiro, on his face was a mirrored expression with everyone else, although he hid it well. Taishiro quickly found an empty seat and silently sat down. The others from the hallway followed in silently. Noise didn’t even exist in the room, it was like even the air held its breath, and the chairs were quiet as people settled in, due to the carpeted floors. The room had the atmosphere of a high school detention. But the situation was much more serious than a prank on a teacher.  

A few other heroes were already in the room alongside Endeavor. From how Taishiro understood it, they were there when the Hero Killer was defeated. The other occupants of the room were an official from the Hero Commission, two cops judging from their demeanor (one with a dog head), and surprisingly enough, the principal of UA (or maybe that should be expected considering his intellect and that supposedly, three of his students were involved). After everyone filed in from the hallway, the women shut the door and sat beside the official.  

That was the queue for the official to start talking, she stood up like how a king would address his court, and announced, “I am Jin Makoto, I will be the acting representative of the Hero Commission.” Her voice was monotone, but strict. Her face was apathetic, but Taishiro got the impression that it was from boredom. Although she dressed professionally, her blue hair in half-up box braids and wearing a black tailored suit, her eyes were sunken and puffy from lack of sleep.  

“As you all should know, we are here to discuss the new vigilante known as 'Phantom'” her eyes scanned across the room and not a pair of eyes strayed from her, “Some of you may be wondering why him? Why is this vigilante so special? These are the wrong questions. They question him individually, not the overall picture that he is a part of.” She gave Endeavor a pointed look, “there have been 'sightings' ” she rolled her eyes at the phrase, as if they were discussing a kappa, “all over Hosu earlier tonight. He appeared to be entirely focused on doing rescue missions and was able to travel between locations at a speed comparable to Hawks.” 

A few gasps filled the room. Ms. Makoto coughed to get their attention back, “If it was just this issue, a meeting would not be necessary, as we could easily counteract him and 'bring him to justice' ” she let her annoyance slip through, “However, and I’m sure some of you have guessed, that was not the only quirk he has exhibited.” She finished and she let the gravity of what she just said sink into the room.    

The pin dropped, and then suddenly heroes erupted in questions, even Taishiro gasped. The only ones who remained quiet were principal Nezu, who had not said anything during the meeting, and the heroes left over from the Stain meeting, who all bowed their heads to the ground.  

“Are you sure this is the case? What if you are mistaking him for a bunch of different people?” A hero, whose name escaped Taishiro, rang out in the clamor. It was a valid question, one that even Taishiro could reason out. Of course, a person couldn’t have more than one quirk, unless it was a natural combination of their parents, but judging from how Ms. Makoto stated it, left little room that this was the case. He remembered his run in with the vigilante. The chill he got when he looked into the boy’s eyes and maw... A shiver ran along his spine.   

She looked at the hero in annoyance, as if she was upset at him for not taking her word, “Although each encounter was brief, they are all consistent in how he was described. An adolescent appearing roughly 17-18 years of age, white floating hair, and blue skin wearing a black & white hazmat suit. There is also the matter of his involvement with the Hero Killer.” The room once again plunged into silence.  

Although they weren’t allowed to be on their phones or look at any media outlets before the meeting, they all were aware of the defeat and subsequent capture of the Hero Killer. That kind of thing you can’t put a lid on, but it was tight. The only information that anyone knew was that three UA kids happened upon Stain and Endeavor had defeated the villain. There was no mention of a possible accomplice.  

“This meeting is of course confidential, but what I’m about to say doesn’t exist outside of this room. The person responsible for the defeat of Stain,” she paused letting the tension build, “is Phantom.” 

More gasps filled the room as everyone turned to Endeavor. He sat rigidly, the stature of pride and strength. If he felt anything about that statement, he didn’t let it show.  

“Wait, doesn’t that mean he’s on our side?” Another hero spoke out. This time Taishiro did recognize him, he was the Normal Hero: Manual. “All you’ve said was that he rescued people and defeated Stain? I was even one of the people he saved.” other heroes spoke up in agreement. Taishiro would have liked to join him, but their previous interaction repeated in his head. How the boy sought him out. How he tried to needle information from him. How it all felt like a trap.   

“He’s just some hopeless kid who wants to be a hero! Sure, he expressed it by becoming a vigilante, but I don’t think all this fanfare is necessary. Just catch him and give him a slap on the wrist. He obviously has the chops to become a hero.” a different hero replied, shooting a challenging glare towards Makoto. More heroes, presumably the ones who were saved by him, started shouting in protest. The once somber attitude of the room tore open and was replaced by a chaotic protest.  

Makoto looked calm like she expected this to happen. She just looked at them all blankly and put a finger to her lips. Silence . The heroes’ mouths were still moving, but after a second, they all looked around the room, confused at one another.  

“Perhaps I should reintroduce myself. I am Jin Makoto from the Hero Commission. My quirk is Volume. And I will have your attention.” She glared at the hero who started it all. Everyone returned to their seats and looked down like kids who just got reprimanded. Makoto made a small satisfied smirk, “Good. Now if you all use your heads and remember what I had said before about asking the right questions. Maybe I should rephrase one; why is He special? Why does he have multiple quirks? And now that you know more about the context, why did he defeat the Hero Killer.” 

It clicked.   

“I’m sure you all are also aware of the ‘Nomu’, as they’ve been called,” the heroes looked at each other in confusion at the term, “These multi-quirked individuals some of you fought. You don’t know this, or at least you shouldn’t since you were not permitted to access the internet, but they are confirmed to be from the League of Villains.” She turned toward Taishiro, “Fat Gum, tell them about your interaction with Phantom.” 

Taishiro stood up and with a sure voice explained what had happened with Phantom.  

“At first, I thought he was an innocent kid playing hero. I was playing along but was taking him in the direction of the authorities when he started asking me questions about other heroes. During the conversation his demeanor changed, and I saw him for what he was. His aura was suffocating, and it felt like death. I asked him to display his quirk, to gauge how dangerous he was. He showed me that he can go intangible, but now I understand that wasn’t his only quirk. Although I was the one leading, everything about it felt like walking into a trap. I was about to forcefully take him in when the explosions started happening. Then he was gone.” Taishiro sat back down. 

It was with his statement that made it finally click for the other heroes. They all looked pale.  

It felt like a trap.   

A hero brave or stupid enough to break the silence whimpered out, “Do we at least have any leads?” Everyone anxiously looked towards Makoto.  

“None at this moment” defeat filled the room, “There is no record of anyone with his characteristics with any of the quirks he displayed that we could find, except for one quirk and phenotype,” she looked pointedly at Endeavor, “But that has been ruled out. We also want to warn you, Phantom's face is unknown, and therefore he could be blending in. His appearance isn’t too outlandish to stick out, especially in the denser mutant-type quirk locations”  

“How do you not know what he looks like? He wasn’t wearing a mask and I clearly remember seeing his face?” Manual asked.  

“Well, what did he look like?” Makoto looked at him expectantly, her head slightly tilted in a condescending manner.  

“Well…” Manual started but trailed off, “I can’t remember…”  

“As I thought. We had sketch artists draw up approximations of what he looks like, however while there was a common face and head shape, his features were vague at best. Every time someone described him, they expressed confusion. They all stated they couldn’t remember what he looked like, as Manual just demonstrated.” Manual had the courage to look embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck. “We held this meeting to say to be on guard if you spot him. Do not engage and follow at a close distance. You must call in support with the code: Is it cold outside; and heroes in the surrounding areas as well as a special ops team will aid in his capture. We must all treat this with the utmost diligence. A general announcement will be issued to other heroes who were not in the meeting today, but everything that was discussed in this room, stays in this room under penalty of license removal or a long trip to Tartarus” Her eyes were steady, poisonous.  

Loud footsteps were heard outside and then the door slammed open. In the door frame, was a tiny stick man who looked even smaller when compared to the size of the door. He looked on the brink of death and wore a suit that was 3 sizes too big on him.  

“Ah, Mr. Yagi. You’re early.” Her lip twitched. She turned towards the rest of the heroes, “And with that, the meeting is adjourned. Most of you do not have the clearance for the next meeting.” All the heroes nervously started to leave, the cop and principal Nezu reminded seated, along with two heroes, one being Endeavor and the other a short old man Taishiro didn’t recognize, “That includes you, Endeavor.” She looked smug. Endeavor looked shocked (as much as a man with default RBF could), but left without a word, pushing past some of the other heroes in his way.  

Taishiro followed after, but stole one more glance towards the meeting room, trying to puzzle out what their next topic was. Nothing came to mind. Taishiro was too exhausted from the day and all that happened. He turned around and walked out.  

He needed to get some sleep.

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 6

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 6: I need a Hero!

Summary: A dangerous man attacks Deku and his friends

Word Count: 3364

An officer was talking to the heroes–at least the ones who were still conscious–and one of them pointed at Danny. He knew what came next. This may be a different world, but a cop is a cop. Danny started casually walking away. 

‘Don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious.’ He sang in his head.

Luck was on his side because Danny was able to sneak away behind some of the debris and disappear. The officer looked confused as she looked for Danny, even asking her fellow officers where he went. 

‘Suckers.’ Danny laughed to himself. 

Danny flew around the city helping people the same way he did here. Most of it was rescues and making sure they were safe before other heroes or help arrived. He didn’t run into any more of those creatures from before. He didn’t know how many there were or if it was a common thing, but he knew there was more somewhere. He could still feel that twisting sensation in his core from the creature's rancid ghost trail. 

Danny scanned the city from above looking for any more sudden explosions, when he caught sight of bursts of light swelling in an alley and people yelling.  

It could be one of those creatures, the one with wings was still loose.  

He kept himself intangible as he descended. It wasn’t a creature like before, but a monster. A grown man with bloody blades was attacking children. There were three of them total, each with different hair colors like they were from candyland. One of them was on the ground while the other two were attacking him with all they had. The peppermint one had gouges cut into his arm but was still shooting balls of fire at the man as he bounced from wall to wall, evading it.

The man slashed the mint green one when he tried to attack from behind and then he fucking licked the blade. Danny gagged. The boy went down.  

Down.   

Went down.   

Children.   

All alone.   

A monster of a man leaning over them.   

P̴̯͙̙̊ ̵̙͊̂͜ ̶̰͔̇ ̸͔͔͍̋Ř̶̳̂ ̶͚̽͊̓͜ ̷̀͜ ̶̢͐̚Ớ̴̼̳͜ ̵̫͛̌̉ ̸̰̗̀ ̶̦̅T̷̠͝ͅ ̷̳͇̙̊ ̸͎͇̘́̕ ̶̢̨͉͐E̸͕̐ ̴͚̼̅͂̎ ̷̡͎́̿ ̷̣̙̗̈̑C̵̤̬̬̉̉͝ ̵͚̌̾ ̵̧̧̛͒͝ ̸̲̩́Ṭ̶̏͒͆  

He shot the man as he was about to behead the kid in the heavy suit on the ground. It stunned him, but he recovered quickly. He jumped back and looked around for the attacker. Danny didn’t give him a chance to see him. From the shadows behind him, Danny punched the man in his back. Danny, while not used to fighting humans, learned a thing or two from the cruelty of the GIW. The man while falling pivoted on his foot and swiped at Danny. It went through him.  

“Who’s there? Another wanna-be a hero?!” He sneered at the direction of the attack. Danny revealed himself, standing far enough for the man to not be able to attack. Although they were close to the same height–with Danny being slightly taller–he looked down at him with hatred in his eyes. Danny understood the look, it was reflected in his eyes too. 

“You have to run away!” Begged the green haired boy on the ground. He looked sick and was the worst out of all of them, “He’s the Hero Killer! His quirk paralyzes you if he ingests your blood.”  

“His quirk?” Oh right, that's what they call powers here. “Noted.”   

They were staring each other down, like two animals sizing up the other. The Hero Killer (really great naming skills there) readied his swords and settled into a stance.  

“That just means I can’t let him cut me,” Danny mirrored the man’s actions, his eyes burning with ectoplasm and excitement. He hated people who went after children. “Easy peasy,” and the two lunged for the other.  

🥦 

Izuku couldn’t believe what he was seeing. After the hero came out of nowhere, he thought it was only gonna be another person sharing the same fate. But this guy had the Hero Killer on the defense!  

The pro-heroes Todoroki called for still haven't arrived yet. Maybe he was sent ahead because of his versatile quirk? But this hero wasn’t one he recognized, and he didn’t seem much older than the 3 of them. Maybe it was a student intern? But why would they send a kid to an unknown situation?  

The fight was raging around him. It wasn’t just on the ground, Izuku could hear the impacts on the walls. It was hard to see what was happening around him–as he was still paralyzed, and he was getting dizzy trying to follow them in the corner of his eye. 

“What crypt did you crawl out of? Or are all those bandages to keep you together?” 

The hero kept making fun of Stain. Stain never responded to them other than a frustrated growl. 

“As if the likes of you will ever defeat me! You’re no better than these kids who aim to be heroes!” Every word the killer spoke was dripping venom like the blood from his knives. Izuku felt a chill go up his spine. “You’re not a true hero! Admit it. You only want the glory of catching me! There’s only one person who I will allow to take me down!”  

“Maybe you’re right.” The kid sounded firm, “maybe I’m not a ‘true hero’, maybe I made a few mistakes, or hurt the people close to me…But I try my best to help people! And I have! Even if I’m not a hero, I still choose to save people!”  

“Oh, so a vigilante then?” His tone changed. Instead of venom, his words were dripping with familiarity, but they still sounded unnerving, “I have more respect for them than your average hero,” he sneered at the word hero, “I even consider myself a vigilante of sorts.”  

“I don’t think I fit into your definition of vigilante, nor do I want to.”  

“And you don’t! You tirelessly mock me instead of saving these people,” Stain snapped back.  

“Geez I can’t do anything right in your eyes, mom,” Izuku could feel the teenager's eye roll, “besides,” The alley lit up in a neon green glow, “I can do both.” 

★ 

Danny really didn’t want to drag this fight out longer than it needed to be. Honestly, He should’ve just knocked him out from the start. Something told him not to, that he could be more dangerous if he was knocked out. He was too unknown, and therefore dangerous. Danny could feel the corruption this man was made of, it rolled in waves of disgust and hatred every time the man swung at him.  

The man lunged at Danny, his sword in a motion to slash. The man was fast, far faster than any person he had fought in Amity. But not any ghost. Just like all the others, Danny evaded it. That's just what the HK (Hero Killer, and really, he was such a kid, that name is so edgy) wanted. When Danny went closer to strike him, a hidden blade from his boot swiped up into Danny's chin, missing his neck.  

The kids in the alley gasp and one screamed. Danny jumped back, surprised that he was able to get hit so easily. The wound (if it could even be called that) stuck itself back together like slime. But the damage had been done.  

A thick glowing bead of ectoplasm coagulated on the sword. Rust was starting to spread from under it. The man raised it to his tongue and licked it.  

A scream filled the alley, but it was soon overtaken by sounds of gurgling and sizzling. A strange smell filled the air, and all eyes were captured by the crumpled form of the man, who moments ago, seemed to have the upper hand.  

His mouth was melting.   

He frantically clawed at his mouth, which looked like a snail dissolving in salt. His long tongue was thrashing around as if trying to escape from himself, like a snake with no head. Everyone was watching. The blue boy, being able to move again, just lifted himself up onto his forearms, as if to get a better view. Only horror was written on his face. He didn’t have the strength to move anymore than that.   

 The noises started bubbling down. Heaves and harsh rasps replaced them, but not undoing the spell that had overtaken them all. He looked at Danny. His eyes lacked focus and a part of his lips were gone, exposing his teeth and limp tongue.  

His blood must have washed the ectoplasm away.   

This had all happened in under a minute. That was all it took for the battle to be decided.  

The Hero Killer walked towards Danny. It was only a few steps at a time, like one would see from a zombie, but Danny didn’t move. He felt he owed it to the man somehow. 

Guilt.  

By now all the kids were able to move, and they took up fighting stances. They didn’t move any closer. None of them knew what to do, still frozen from before. 

The man stopped just before Danny. He only had one sword left. He raised it slowly and pointed it at him as a challenge. Danny remained still. The man took that as a cue and with a pained yell, started slashing him.  

Danny continued to stand there. He let the man slash through him over and over again. Since the blade wasn’t made with ghosts in mind, Danny let it slash through his body as if it were cutting through water. The blade was getting more and more corroded as it came out of him.  

After fighting him, Danny was able to understand him, not sympathize, but understand. He had fought with a franticness, but it was calculated. Now however, he was acting on pure instinct.  

The man was no longer a threat.  

The sword, which was dark brown and bent, clattered to the ground. The Hero Killer’s raspy grunts and cries had softened. He collapsed, but before he hit the concrete, Danny caught him.  

He laid him down on his back. Although Danny knew he was only unconscious, He looked like he had just died a very painful death. His eyes were only the whites, and his mouth was eaten up by Danny’s ectoplasm. His face was contorted in a horrified scream.  

Danny just stared. A swirling feeling thrashed around him. Danny had felt this before. It ached at the back of his brain, but it didn’t come out. He just continued to stare at him, trying to figure out what it meant. How does he feel? How does he feel about how much he hurt him? What part of him feels nothing? What part of him feels regret? What part of him feels vindicated?   

“Should we tie him up?” A voice pulled Danny out of his thoughts like icy water. His eyes, maybe with more intensity than he expected, looked at the boy. He was the green one. He stood over Danny with his hand hovering over his shoulder, like they were afraid to touch him. 

 ‘He should,’ a small part of Danny whispered (the place where Spectra lived).  

The boy looked at him with concern. His leg was badly injured, and even standing must have been painful for him. But the boy stayed by Danny. Because he was worried about him. Who was the last person to be worried for him? His friends? His sister? 

‘It felt so long since then…’  

“Yeah. That's a good idea.” Danny floated up so he was no longer on the ground (when did he get there?). The kid seemed taken aback by this and his mouth opened before he bit it closed again. He turned towards his friends who were talking by the mouth of the alley. He was about to walk away before Danny asked, “Do you need help?” The kid looked confused, “With your leg? You put up a good front, but I know it must be painful.” 

The boy looked taken aback but nodded his head a little. Without a word, Danny scooped up the boy and carried him on his back. He was heavier than expected, and Danny could feel the tight muscles from where he held onto his legs. The boy had gone through training that had no one that young should endure. He turned his back to the Hero Killer, sure that the man wasn’t going to be up anything soon.  

“So, what's your name, kid?” The kid was the one that fought the hardest out of all of them, but from his injuries, he was either not that strong, or too self-sacrificing.  

“Deku,” The kid answered. It was a weird name, but maybe all names were like that here.  

“My name’s Phantom,”  

“Is that your quirk?” The kid asked. Despite being beaten up all the way to hell, there was a hint of excitement there. 

“My quirk? Oh right…uh yeah,” Danny still wasn’t used to that term. 

“So, you can float, turn intangible, and…turn into slime?” Danny Nodded. The kid took that as permission to talk, “Then what was that blast you shot at him? It was green like your…insides? Were those your insides? Is that a manifestation of your quirk or do you have control over that? If it is a manifestation, is that why your eyes are like that? What exactly does your quirk entail cause the whole float and intangible thing kinda makes sense, but not really the other. Can you breathe when you're intangible or is there a time limit? Or does it burn through your energy, so you don’t use it a lot? Your clothes don’t come off so they must be special too. Also, you glow. Is it a mutation type quirk then? I’ve never heard of a mutation giving you anything other than the already obvious physical capabilities?” 

‘Uhhhhhhhh… What?’   

“Yes?” Danny really wasn’t in a state to be paying attention. “Wait, no? I don’t know.”  

The kid started muttering but Danny really didn’t have the energy to listen.  

They had reached the kid’s (Deku, Danny reminded himself) friends. They were talking with a few heroes, none that Danny recognized (not that he would). When they came into sight, an old short man flew towards Deku with a kick. Danny, still in an adrenaline high, blocked the attack with a quickly raised ecto-shield. The old man jumped back, and the other heroes looked at him. The man went lower to the ground, which wasn’t hard because he was very short, and fell into an attack stance like before.  

“Grand Torino it’s OK!” Deku yelled into Danny’s ear. The old man relaxed his stance slightly, but in a way that it was easy to fall back into. 

“Who is this person, Deku?” Grand Torino seems flighty, pun intended. He kept looking between Danny and Deku, suspiciously. Danny, reading the mood, carefully set Deku down and raised his hands in a placating manner. 

Deku limped over to where the hero’s were gathered, “He helped us with the villain.” 

At the mention of a threat, the heroes scanned the area. One of them noticed it first. The Hero Killer was still passed out in the alley, without restraints. All of the heroes rushed into action, but honestly, they weren’t sure what to do. One of the heroes started phoning the police (what was the point of heroes if they were just going to call the cops?) while another hero slowly went towards him with a rope of some kind. When he was securely tied up, the heroes seemed to relax (even if he was just as dangerous before they ‘saved the day’).  

While this was all going down, the kids were in a deep conversion. Danny didn’t listen in, not wanting to be rude. Besides, he had his attention elsewhere.  

Grand Torino kept staring him down. He never moved out of the stance he was in. Danny really didn’t want trouble, he’s just glad that the kids are safe, and the heroes have it covered now. Danny was about to give him the slip when the old man’s eyes darted towards the sky. 

“Get down!” He shouted at Deku as the winged thing from earlier flew over them. With it’s (toes? talons?) toe-lons, it grabbed Deku from the waist. Gusts of wind from its speed blew at the heroes, and some had to cover their eyes not to be blinded.  

None of the heroes did anything. Even the old man, who seemed so concerned for Deku before, stayed frozen to the spot, just squinting at their shrinking forms as they flew away.  

Spite filled in Danny as he watched them do nothing. Danny quickly flew after them, not wanting to lose any more distance. Surprised gasps were heard behind him, but he ignored it. If they weren’t going to do anything, they shouldn’t judge him. He was able to catch up in milliseconds. He shot ice at the thing’s wings, not wanting to risk hitting the kid. The thing went down as it screeched in pain, still injured from before. Danny was able to catch Deku before he crashed with it. He held the kid on his back as he stared at the creature below him. Danny stepped on its wing to stop it from getting further away. It was thrashing about still, but it was obvious it could no longer fight.  

He could end it now like he had the last one. Whatever it was radiated pain and confusion, not from the injuries (it didn’t even seem aware of those), but by merely breathing. Danny could almost hear it asking ‘why?’ in it’s shrieks, though none were coherent to him. 

He could do it right now, his foot raised over the poor creature's head. He was about to stomp down when he felt the boy on his back squeeze him. It was like a child clutching onto their parents when they were scared. Danny put his foot back down but watched the thing below him. The same feeling he had when he defeated the Hero Killer settled into him again. 

Another hero had joined them and was barking orders at them, not noticing what was around him.  

“Get ready for a fight.” He heard one of them say.  

Danny really was sick of people assuming the worst of him. In Amity, he could understand. Ghosts were dangerous, and he was probably the worst one of them all (pretending he was still human). He never needed their acceptance, just saving them was enough. He didn’t care that they held city hall meetings to ‘get rid of the ghost boy’, he didn’t care when they invited the GIW in town to hunt him down, he didn't even care when they called him inviso-bill. But in the world of heroes? In the world where people cheer the heroes on as they defeat the bad guy, where they sell figurines and merch of them, where kids look up to and dream of even becoming one, was it really so hard for Danny to be accepted? Maybe humans could just feel he was too different from them. 

Danny turned towards them, and they all froze, he even felt Deku tense up on top of him 

I̶̧̻͑͝ ̸̢̟̞̿͂̚Ă̶̮̹ ̷̖͍̓̂͝M̷̻̉ ̶̰̖̒̑ ̴̯̥̂̔N̷̟̦̰̓̓̄ ̷̞͌͑Ỡ̸͍̖͗ ̷͓̚T̵͖͔̈́͂̄ ̴̼͉̓ ̷̯͉̆A̵̹͖̬̎̂ ̸̺̺͝ ̵̤̆̆V̴̜̉̇̈́ ̷̦͙͛͘I̸̪̖̗͝ ̴̙̫͋̑̕L̶̦̰̽ ̴̙͚̜̓́L̴̜͍͛̐͘ ̴̘͑͘A̷̢̲͔̓ ̴̖̈́̿̓Ì̷̘̏ ̴̖̖̜͗N̴̢̟͔̄ ̸̙͚̎ͅ!̵̼͈͔͝ ̴̮͝!̴͓̎̓͊ ̴͚̝̬͛̆͋ ̴̧͖͒Y̴̥̦̖̿͠͝ ̶̮̥̀Ō̸̡͓̫ ̵̝͙̔Ư̵̢̘̮͂ ̵̮̎̓͆ ̶͎̓D̴͖̰̉̉͐ ̵̗͖̗̏Ö̵̭͓͉́̆̂ ̶̜̔̀Ṅ̴̹̟͆ ̵͌͝͝ͅ’̷͓̩̓̎ ̵̺͛T̵̯̄ ̶̡̗̈́ ̶̰̝́N̴̦͍̫̽̒ ̴̨̅͆̚͜Ȩ̷̳̥̿̔ ̴̩́É̸͈̱̖͝ ̴̢͖͘D̶̻̘̀ ̴̧̠̙̈́͂ ̷̼̭̬̔T̶̟͗̍͐ ̷̻̳̈́Ö̶̺̂͠ ̷̟͐̽ ̴̜̫̈̈W̸̢̅̓͆ ̸̨͙̙͒O̵͙̼͛̔͌ͅ ̵̡̛͒Ŗ̴͉̦͛ ̸̪̫̣̃̈́R̷̢͙̐̂ ̶̖̊͛͜Ÿ̶̥͓́͜ ̸̢͎͋̒!̶͕̈́͛̿ ̶̮̣̳̀̚͝ ̶͕̺͂̒͝I̷̬̘̋ ̴̦̭͋̇’̸̤̭͙̈̉ ̵̱͍̭͆́M̴̛͇̗̌͠ ̵̢̲̋ ̷̧̛̯͚͛͝Ń̷͈͠ ̵̩̽͐͜͜O̶̰͛͋͘ ̶͔̬̀T̴̺̋ ̷̻́̈́̿ ̵̤̼̳̎G̶̨̫̖̉́̾ ̴̧͍̽O̷̧̽͊̒ ̶̫͆̎Ĭ̵̫͇̔ ̶̛̙̑́Ǹ̴̨̙͍ ̴̮̬͖́̎̓G̴̩̦͛ ̷͎͖̅͜ ̶̨̞̣̈́Ţ̷͙͖̓̑ ̴̨̦̮̈͋O̷͉͍̓͠ ̷̱̗͑͑͜ ̶̫̤͔͛Ḫ̷̻̗̈͐͗ ̷͎̯̣̅̈̈Ù̶̡̼ ̷̢͛R̶͎͓̾͝͝ ̶̛̯̣̻̕T̸̼͌̓ ̶͉̲̞̀̐ ̵̫̎̈́Ą̷̩̪͑̓ ̴̞̀͐͝N̷͕͌͠ ̸̧̛̠͓Y̶̪̹͉̆̽̈́ ̶̟͆͐Ő̶̲͔̓̀ ̵̧͕͍̏N̶̺̲̯̈́ ̵̞͖̥̾̈́E̵͈͊ ̴̧͗!̵̧͖̈́ 

He set Deku down, careful of his leg, and smiled at him. He had a heart shattering panicked look in his eyes. Danny looked at the heroes, but they all shared the same expressions. One hero even fell down looking at him.  

It was all just too much.  

Danny looked back at Deku. His eyes shifted more towards confusion than fear. Then, without warning, Danny took to the night sky.  

“Phantom, wait!”  

But he was already gone.

End ★

Glitch text translations

P   R   O   T   E   C   T

I A M  N O T  A  V I L L A I N ! !  Y O U  D O N ’ T  N E E D  T O  W O R R Y !  I ’ M  N O T  G O I N G  T O  H U R T  A N Y O N E !

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 5

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 5: Panic in Townsquare

Summary: Danny runs into two Nomus

Word Count: 2336

Danny didn’t know what he did to make the hero so mad. The hero tried to hide it, but Danny could tell. He was walking faster, his hands clenched, his smile a little too forceful. He no longer smiled at Danny like he did when their conversation first started. Maybe the social norms were different here. Maybe it's just this guy’s problem. 

“So, what’s your quirk?” The noise was sudden like a gunshot, Danny almost missed what he said.  

“My quirk? I mean I guess I like space and stuff, but I don’t think it’s that weird.” What type of person asks someone that when they just met?  

“No.” He sounded final, “Your power. What is it?” The man's eyes bore into Danny again. It was like when they first met, this time it went straight through Danny's bones.  

“My power?” Danny didn’t know how to answer that. Fat Gum was becoming more and more tense, he could feel it. Danny needed to answer soon, “I can go intangible.” That was the first power that Danny got, and so the first thing that came to mind.  

“Oh yeah? Show me.” The hero turned around fully, using his extra height to corner Danny, although there was plenty of space behind him. He had a playful smile on, but Danny knew it wasn’t real.

Danny knelt on the ground and stuck his arm through the cold concrete. He could feel how things interacted with his arm, nothing moved, but it was like he was able to feel the jagged outline of the rocks. Or maybe he thought he could feel it, so he did. Ectoplasm was weird like that.  

Fat Gum breathed in deeply.  

“Oh wow, that’s really something.” Fat Gum was trying to smile wider, “Nice quirk kid. Is there a time limit on that?” He cocked his head to the side, “Or are you able to breathe while going through stuff? Seems like an impressive quirk.” There was something unsaid, What are your weaknesses? 

Danny knew what this was. He had to get away.  

“I-” an explosion was heard and suddenly people all around were screaming. Danny’s core shook.  

Protect.  

The hero had turned around at the blast, shock and horror filled his face. In a blink, Danny turned invisible and flew off, not bothering to look back as the hero turned to look for him.  

★ 

People were screaming and running through the streets. Danny followed the noise into a little shopping district and saw a…. Well he wasn’t sure what he saw.

‘What the fuck are those things?’

There were two of them. One of them was a weird zombie creature with only half a face and the other, a weird skin bird-man-thing. They both had their brains sticking out of their heads like one of those sad goldfish.  

Danny’s throat started to itch and he felt his ghost sense almost recoil when he got closer. They weren’t dead, but they weren’t alive either, or not in the way that humans should be. Something was viscerally wrong with them, and it left a twisting sensation in Danny’s belly. It felt like when he met Dan or Elle for the first time but worse. These things shouldn’t exist. Danny swallowed the feeling and got even closer. 

They were attacking a group of heroes (anyone in a costume was a hero in this world) and the heroes were losing. Badly. They were being batted away like mosquitos. People still crowded around the area, either being frozen with fear or not fully understanding the danger yet. The only reason the creatures weren’t going after them is that they were being distracted by the heroes.

One of the things threw an empty bus at a hero–who surprisingly, did not die–and was knocked out cold. When it fell, an explosion blasted out and created a massive fire.  

A minotaur man ripped out a fire hydrant from the ground and threw it at one of those things. The impact did nothing. He kept yelling to another man who was talking to a kid. Oh no. A kid shouldn’t be anywhere near this.   

The hero sent the kid away–good–and started fucking waterbending the water from the hydrant for the big fire. The one with the wings kept fanning and spreading the fire. By the time he put the big one out, smaller ones would already be everywhere.  

Danny couldn’t watch anymore–he didn’t know how he could for so long. He didn’t know much about this world, but he knew they were outmatched. The one with wings swept towards a hero, its toes? claws? Ready to take him away.  

“Hey Bird-Brain! Go long!” Danny threw a ball of ice at it. It distracted it enough for the hero to get out of the way.  

It roared. Do birds roar? Is that the right noise? Maybe ‘shrieked’ is a better term.  

‘Not the time.’

Danny kept pelting its wing with ice. One huge chunk weighed it to the ground. That didn’t make it any less dangerous.  

“Get out of here kid,” said the hero who Danny just saved. Danny glared at him, and the hero shut up. Danny didn’t have time for that. Well he did not not have the time, but he didn’t want to deal with that right now. He circled around the bird thing, encasing it with ice. That should at least keep him busy.   

The minotaur was fighting the one missing half its face–what's a good name for that one? Baldy? Well, they both didn’t have hair–but it was clear he was at his limit for the amount of hits he could take. Baldy grabbed his arm and threw him into the hero putting out the fires. Neither of them got back up. Only one hero remained. 

Instead of continuing to rampage, Baldy noticed the people for the first time and went charging towards them. Danny was able to intersect its punch as the thing aimed at a dog-walker.  

It was the most anything Danny had felt in a while. All day and the one before, he was almost numb.  

Now. Now he felt alive.  

He was able to take all the attacks that the thing threw at him and return them ten-fold. He had to be careful of its hands though. It’s punches were hard, but just as quickly as Danny dodged a hit, it would try to grab him.  

“What hero is that?”

“I don’t know, I don’t recognize him.”  

“Maybe he’s an intern or new sidekick?”   

“Who’s his mentor?”  

“Didn’t Manual get a new intern?”   

“I don’t think that's him.”  

Danny couldn’t hear them. It grabbed hold of his arm and slammed him into the concrete. It left a crater and suddenly Danny felt nostalgic.  

The thing didn’t relent in its attacks. Danny was on his stomach and the thing kept hitting him in his back. He could hear screaming. His body felt like jelly, but now he was able to turn his torso around and create an ecto shield. 

With a break from the attacks, Danny was able to see the damage. His body was jelly. His waist was twisted around like a cloth being wrung out, and his legs were backwards from the rest of him. ‘Okay.’ That's a new development. He had seen other ghosts do it before, and had even done it one time himself, but he had to actively focus on contorting his body. This, however, was like a reflex. No. Less than that. It was like twisting his wrist or his torso. It was too natural.   

The thing was still hitting his shield and he could hear the bird thing start to destroy the ice. Danny had to end this fast.  

Danny sent his shield back and knocked Baldy away with a screech. His shield shattered and embedded itself in the thing's skin. Then it bled. Oh this, this Danny could work with.  

It was clear to Danny that whatever this thing was, ending it would be a mercy. It shouldn’t have existed in the first place. Anger and pain radiated off it as it continued it’s attack. 

‘Is that how the other ghosts looked at him?’ Danny wondered. 

It didn’t matter. This thing had to be put down. He coated his hands in ice in a make-shift gauntlet. They were thick and jagged with more weight than he wanted, but they would work just as well in any size. 

Danny didn’t let the thing recover as he started his volley on the creature’s flesh. Each hit was heavy and satisfying. It was like stabbing pencils in an orange. The result was the same. It lay there, twitching before Danny’s feet. It stopped after a moment, dead.

Holy shit that was a lot. 

Danny had never taken a life before. It didn’t leave a bitter feeling in the way he excepted it too. He felt a general unease, but not like he had done anything wrong. It was hurting and was going to hurt others. Danny simply stopped both of those from happening anymore. 

Danny didn’t have any time to grapple with what he had done further. Bird-Brain had escaped the ice and was starting to fly away. Danny chased after it, an ice blast under his skin, but it’s wings were fanning the still surrounding flames. Embers had landed on a tree and grass where a few people were hidden. Danny knelt down and pressed his palms on the ground. He sent a road of sleet towards the tree, and it traveled up the bark and coated it in an instant. That was also new. His ice was never that quick or long spread before. 

The people surrounding only had minor burns but stared at the tree with shock and awe on their faces.  

Right away he started icing down the smaller fires around him. The range of his ice had increased, and Danny realized he had yet to transform.

‘Was there anything to change into left?’  

In Danny’s haste to put out the smaller fires, he had completely neglected the initial one. It had gotten smaller as its fuel burned, but there was a leak that led towards a beer and liquor store.  

Danny felt a swell of heat on his back. The fire had just entered the door and was already eating the shelves. It would only be a moment until it would explode out.  

With a deep inhale that he didn’t need, Danny’s hands started to glow brighter than before. ‘It should be fine. Ecto-ice isn’t made out of water, nothing bad should happen.’  

Danny jinxed it. Something bad happened.  

Before he was able to ice down the fire, a blast rocketed out. Using the already built up energy in his hands, he created a dome of ice. Everyone was so scattered out that it wouldn’t be big enough. Danny would be fine, he survived way worse, but the people behind him would get hurt.

The blast was getting closer, but Danny’s attention was on how his ice was still spreading and forming. He saw in slow motion how it was able to cover the whole two-lane street. Everyone was okay.   

Dust and light debris blew away and settled peacefully as a chill filled the air. Danny couldn’t feel it. He could only feel the sharp eyes of the heroes and civilians alike watching him. Their mouths were dropped. They were looking at him like he was a monster. A freak. And Danny was. It's what he always was.  

For so long he thought it was only just powers, that he wasn’t anything more or anything less than what Spectra said. Just a creepy boy with creepy powers. How could you accept that you weren’t human anymore? How could you accept that you had died? 

It was little things at first. He didn’t get cold, food didn’t taste the same, he had to remind his feet to touch the ground, and there were moments where he couldn’t feel anything physical at all.

The big event was when he fell asleep in class. Mr. Lancer had made a sarcastic remark about Danny not paying attention, but he didn’t respond. It grew into concern when he stepped closer. Apparently, Danny wasn’t breathing and he didn’t have a pulse. He woke up later when his ghost sense went off at the hospital. He was in the body bag.   

‘A ghost trying to fit in with humans,’ rang out in his head.  

That's all he was. No more. No less.   

But even that wasn’t true anymore. Now there was no hiding behind his human body. He had felt it when he died in the fight with Pariah, like a cord snapping. He was just glad he wasn’t alone… 

Danny was starting to spiral. It would be so easy to test it, to see if he had even an inkling of human left in him. All he needed to do was transform… 

A teen stepped closer to him. Danny backed away from the movement. The teen looked at Danny. He could see frost on the boy’s breath. His face filled with resolve and suddenly the boy bowed deeply.  

“Thank you for saving us!” That seemed to spark everyone around him and more and more ‘thank yous’ were heard. 

“Thank you so much!” One woman with soot on her face yelled. 

“I was on my way home when that thing attacked. I would have never seen my husband again” Said a man.  

Danny was shocked. No one had ever thanked him so publicly. It had always been teens in private or notes left around his frequent spots. He grabbed at his chest, his core pounded harder and harder with every new voice.  

More and more people came up to him and some even shook his hand. His vision was starting to get blurry. Why did someone saying thank him make him feel like this? 

As if on cue, more heroes arrived on the scene with fire trucks and paramedics.  

Everyone was okay.

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 4

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 4: An Uneasy Feeling

Summary: Danny runs into a hero while exploring

Word Count: 2095

In the end, Danny had only gotten a few hours of sleep. He had slept in his ghost form, too afraid of what would happen if he transformed. Whoever said, “I'll sleep when I am dead”, was wrong and taunting Danny. 

He woke feeling restless, eager to travel home and grapple with his current unknown status. Despite this, he could only stare into the nothing of the patched hole. He tried not to think, really he did, but staring into the ectoplasm that lay mounted above him, stirred something in him. That was a part of him. He could still feel it reaching out to him, like a baby wanting to be held. 

‘The crown felt like that too.’

Still laying in the makeshift hammock, he reached his fingers out towards the goo. Slowly, like cold honey, it reached back, gravity having no bearing on its descent. When it touched his finger, it merged and went back into himself. The sensation was odd, like drinking a thick smoothie but one of the chucks got stuck. After a few seconds, all the ectoplasm that was splattered on the wall was back within him. Danny stared at the remaining ecto-ice. It still called to him, but not in the way his pure ectoplasm had. It was softer and content with being where it was. 

With the goo no longer there, it revealed the faint blue glow of his ice combined with the sunlight and hit him with a reminder of the time.  

Like it or not, the day had already begun.  

★ 

Danny moved through the afternoon sun undetectable. It was easier moving this way than being corporeal all the time, that took energy. Being solid for him was a conscious thing, like sitting up straight instead of slouching. Only powerful ghosts–or ones that felt a strong connection to the living–could do it for prolonged periods. Danny didn’t know which group he was a part of, especially now.  

The city looked like most every other city Danny had flown over, the only real difference is the language placed on buildings and billboards alike, although some did have a few American words on it like ‘Cheese Burger!’ or “Yum!” on an advertisement. The people Danny noticed, had a lot of brightly colored hair. Not everyone had fashion colors but more often than not purple, pink, blue or white haired individuals would be scattered among the crowds.  

Danny didn’t have a general destination except ‘home’ in mind and decided to take a break and look around. Despite the lack of sleep, Danny wasn’t tired and was instead curious about the lives around him. He had never explored beyond his tiny town, and any chance he did get away was spent with family or more ghost hunting. 

He sat down on a ledge overlooking an active part of a city park and started people-watching. There was a dad walking with his daughter, hand in hand. She was eating an ice cream and he was holding some bags and a balloon. He looked tired but had a smile on his face as they walked. There was an old lady just sitting on a bench staring at everything. Someone sat beside her and took her hand, they looked at each other with such love that Danny could feel it from here. He looked away when they started to kiss, not wanting to invade the moment. Danny saw other kids climbing and on a playground. The atmosphere felt warm and inviting, it sent a pain of longing in him for his friends. 

Danny was about to leave and continue exploring when he heard a scream. A big hairy woman was running away with a whole ATM. Then another woman–who just happened to be 60 feet tall–was chasing after her in a tight costume.  

“Look, it's Mount Lady!” One man yelled.  

“Get her Mount Lady!” A child cheered.  

“Dude, she’s like, my favorite hero”   

“You only say that cause you like her costume.” Two teens off to the side joked.  

Danny looked around again.  

The little girl's ice cream had melted, and her mouth had smoke coming out. The one who took the old lady’s hand had a praying mantis head. The kids on the playground, one of them was throwing his arm at the others and another had a tail.  

Wow. Danny really needed to pay attention more.  

Holy shit.

Holy shit!   

Danny was way off base. He wasn’t just in another country, he was in another country in another dimension. And in this one it seemed everyone had super-powers! Not only that, but there were heroes!  

Just then a bird man flew across the sky.  

Holy shit.  

★ 

Danny flew around for hours and hours following heroes as they saved the day. They all did it so well. None of them left behind collateral damage, even that big lady. Uh Mount Lady, right? They were able to save everyone, and everyone loved them!  

Maybe there was a reason he ended up here in all the infinite possibilities of the Realms. He had a feeling a certain omnipresent troll had something to do with it. 

As Danny explored, it had gotten late and the skies grew dark. Only a few people remained on the streets, and most of them were–from what Danny could tell–heroes making rounds. Something had happened earlier that made everyone quickly get home. 

‘It could be an emergency.’ Danny’s core tightened. He needed to get more information and he knew one way of getting it.  

 Below him was a group of heroes. Everyone was looking at one big guy as he pointed in different directions. Probably the leader, Danny surmised. He floated down and became corporeal once again. He blended in with the crowd easily with his outfit. As the group dispersed, Danny followed the one heading towards an empty street. Danny must’ve rolled a nat 1 in stealth because suddenly, a booming voice came from behind him. 

“Hey you!” Said a large man in an orange and yellow suit. It wasn’t the same as Danny’s dad’s, but had letters on the side and across the front. Danny went closer, putting on his best innocent face before he faced the man. 

The leader was a lot bigger up close, way bigger than Danny’s dad. He stared down at Danny with enough scrutiny to make a peer reviewed paper shiver. “I haven’t seen you before,” Danny was staring at his mouth, his words didn't match his lips. ‘Weird.’ 

The man kept looking at Danny when suddenly his eyes widened with something playful. “You must be the bigshot intern!” 

Danny didn’t know what that meant but nodded along anyway. The man slapped his shoulder. It was the most interaction Danny had with something physical for a while.  

“Yep, that’s me…” Danny was such a great liar.  

“What was your name again?” Now that the man wasn’t looking into Danny's soul like it was glass, he seemed quite friendly.  

“I'mmm-” Oh shit what was Danny gonna say. He can’t say his actual name, he’ll know he's not the intern. “Uhhhh…” Oh, Danny had no idea. 

“Your hero name, kid.” The man added as if sensing Danny's panic. He looked amused.  

“Right…hero name…” Danny paused, then with quiet resolve replied, “Phantom.” He hoped the hero didn’t know the intern's alias. 

‘This is fine. And if he finds out later, I will be long gone. Everything is fine.’   

“Was that it?” The man put his hand on his chin and looked deep in thought, “I knew it was French, but it didn’t sound like that…” He rolled on the back of his heels for a second. He stopped, then looked at Danny with a shrug, “Eh, I never learned French so I guess I wouldn't be able to tell.” He smiled at him. His mouth still didn’t match his words.  

“Cool.” Danny managed to force out after an uncomfortable second. 

“Follow me, kid.” The man laughed and started walking away, Danny had to run to keep up with him.  

~🍬~ 

Fat Gum Knew this kid wasn’t Mirio. Probably just a vigilante playing hero. The kid, ‘Phantom’, looked too old to be a first year, hell, he looked almost too old to be a third year. He probably graduated and couldn’t become a hero like he wanted. Vigilante’s always pop up after big events too. The recent attack on the USJ and the UA festival landed a ton of these kids in a cell for a night. Fat Gum didn’t like it, but he understood it had to be done.  

The other pro-heroes were all over town busy with their interns. Fat Gum’s had been sent away to investigate a nearby alley. It was safe, but still close enough to him in case it wasn’t. 

He’ll humor the kid for a while and then take him to one of them. Fat Gum trusted Suneater to take care of Red Riot until he got back with Phantom here. Endeavor should be close. That will just be what the kid needs to whip into shape. 

He seemed like a good kid, if a bit awkward. He had almost an alien vibe to him. He was a tall, but skinny thing, and some parts of him seemed too long. His skin was blue with small white spots that could be called freckles. His white hair ebbed and flowed around his head slightly, as if he were underwater. His ears occasionally peaked out and Fat Gum noticed they were pointed. 

Fat Gum wondered what his quirk was. Who knows, maybe if things turned out well tonight, he’ll have another sidekick (after he went through the systems and punishments in place, of course).

“What’s your hero name?” Phantom asked. 

“You’re kidding, right?” Fat Gum chuckled. 

Phantom looked awkward, as if caught in a lie, but continued speaking anyway. “Yeah I really don’t know you.”

That stopped Fat Gum in his tracks. He thought that Phantom had snuck into his group because he was a fan, but looking at the vacant stare on the boy’s face told him that the boy didn’t even know who he was.

“I’m the BMI Hero: Fat Gum!” He struck a pose. The boy gave no reaction other than nodding. 

It is possible that Fat Gum was merely the first hero the kid spotted or was able to sneak by. It wasn’t anything personal, just by chance. Still, Fat Gum pouted. You’d think being in the top 100 of heroes would get you more fans–or at least recognition. 

“So how long have you been a hero?” The kid shook out of his thoughts and stared at Fat Gum. The kid had a creepy stare, like the eyes of a dead man were watching you. His pupils had narrowed into slits no thicker than a needle. He looked like a snake about to bite.  

Then it was gone. 

It was such a shift that Fat Gum was left reeling. Was that really the same kid a moment ago?

“Oh! Right right. Uhhh…not too long,” The boy fiddled with his gloves. Hazmat gloves. His whole costume had an ‘experiment escaped’ theme to it. Most vigilantes' costumes were hand-made or augmented hero-merch. This kid wasn’t a rookie at all.  

“So that’s like, what, a few months?” He wasn’t really watching the kid’s behavior before, he just wrote him off at first. That had been a mistake. Now, Fat Gum's attention was focused solely on studying the boy in front of him. He seemed to radiate strength but also an overwhelming sense of death. How could a kid have such an aura?   

“It’s been at least a few months, yeah.” The boy chuckled to himself like it was an inside joke. Fat Gum only saw fangs. 

“That’s fun that’s fun…” Fat Gum looked away from the boy.  

He was hiding something, that much was certain.  

“So, are there a lot of heroes?” The kid said this so casually, and had it been a minute ago, Fat Gum wouldn’t have thought anything of it.  

“You bet. They’re all over the city. Criminals are gonna have a hard time tonight.” It was a threat.  

“So, they’re pretty common then?” The boy stared again, then continued, “in this part of the city I mean.” He was trying to get information out of him.  

This was a trap. But why go for him? What was he planning?  

“Yeah, they’re very common. There’s probably not a corner that doesn’t have a hero in it.” You are surrounded.  He had to take him to the heroes. Now.

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 3

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 3: Home

Summary: Danny ends up in a foreign place, but makes plans to get back home.

Word Count: 1129

The portal didn’t lead him to Amity Park. The air felt different here… In Amity, the air itself felt heavy from all the ectoplasm that seeped into the very earth of the town. Here, while it still was heavy with something, it wasn’t the same almost tangy zest of Amity’s ectoplasm. It was more diluted, but still there under the surface.  

The portal closed up like a ziplock bag, and the seam melded into the background, as if it was never there. Danny frantically clawed and ripped at the space that once could lead him home. He probably looked like a mad man as he desperately grasped at nothing. He could still feel it, just beyond, like an itch that was just below the skin.  

Danny didn’t know how long he slashed at the empty space. He threw his arms over his head and hammered them down in the air in frustration. The alleyway he had landed in was bathed green from the light of his ‘scary eyes’ and they felt cold in his sockets. If the Fruitloop was there he would probably taunt and mock him for his temper.  

His relationship with the old man had cooled over the years to a general dislike rather than outright hatred. They formed a truce after Dani (or Elle as she now liked to be called) almost got destabilized. Despite her starting out as a pseudo Danny, Vlad had begun to view her like an actual daughter, resolved to take care of her. Danny could respect the man for trying to change. After that, Vlad became the uncle he could almost go to for his troubles. Almost. He was still a Fruitloop.   

Danny ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath in. He didn’t need to breathe while in his ghost form, but it was still a relaxing ritual. His eyes dimmed back to their constant glow, only lighting features of his own face than the whole alley. 

Frostbite had told him once before how fickle natural portals were. Time and space had to overlap in perfect conditions to form one, and they were never open for long, unless an outside force gave it enough energy. His parents' portal was a stretched out natural portal being pulled apart and held together by an abundance of ectoplasm.  

One thing was for sure tonight. He wasn’t getting home. 

Danny crossed his legs and floated above the ground, not wanting to touch the dark puddles that wetted the alley. He had no clue where he was. He never heard of a town with this level of ecto-radiation. Or it could just be that he was on a ley-line as those were known for natural portals and an abundance of ectoplasm.  

Danny blew out a hollow sign as he righted himself to go fly and explore. He needed to find any landmarks or architecture that he could recognize, and you can’t get a good idea where you’re at by an alley. He could be in a different country for all he knew.  

He flew above what he now knew to be a city. He kept himself invisible and intangible to conserve energy (since it was the natural state of ghosts) and for stealth. He did not need to alert the GIW where he was.  

The pollution wasn’t bad enough where there were plumes of smog in the air, but it wasn’t good enough to see the sky clearly. Ideally, Danny could get a sense of where he was with the stars, but knowing star locations and their hemispheres, and being able to tell where you're at in the world, are two different skills. Interconnected, yes, but different, nonetheless.  

Flying around Danny couldn’t recognize any landmarks from other countries or domestic, so that was a bust. The only real clue were the neon billboards that had kanji in wild fonts that made him dizzy to look at. So he was in Japan, or a dense Japanese population (but he was pretty sure it was the former).  

Ok. This was becoming a problem for tomorrow.  

Despite being asleep? Dead? For only Clockwork knows how long, he was starting to get tired. Danny had a long day. There was too much to process, and even more to not think about. He needed to find shelter and sleep.  

★ 

After a while, Danny was able to find an abandoned warehouse. No matter the country, trust a big city to have a few “forgotten” areas. Not forgotten to all though, a few clusters of people were scattered about. Some were close enough to signal different groups, while others were too far apart from anyone to announce partnership.  

He wouldn’t take up space from them.  

He floated above them to a rundown loft above the rafters. Due to the rotten ladder, no one was able to claim it, so Danny didn’t feel too guilty using it for the night.  

The loft was more rundown than the rest of the warehouse, a decent sized hole welcomed in rain, and it had rotted and softened the floorboards. It was a wonder it was still together at all. As long as the beams stayed intact, Danny could make it work.  

There was an old tarp outside, muddy and knotted together. Danny took it back to his soon to be nest and laid it best he could over the mostly intact floor beams. It formed a sorta hammock for him to sleep in. With more glow than he would’ve liked, Danny coated the tarp in frost to make it more durable for his soon to be restless sleep. Danny wasn’t worried about the support beams, despite the damage, he could tell they had a lot more life in them to last well over the night. Or morning now. He could see the wisps of dawn sneaking through the nature-made skylight. Not wanting future sun to be in his eyes, he shot a chuck of ice at it and covered that in ectoplasm for extra sun blocking abilities.  

With his newly formed nest, Danny could now think about sleep… 

Except he couldn’t. In the stillness of the morning, through the gentle snores of those below, Danny realized he couldn’t hear his own breathing.  

This shouldn’t be surprising as he was still in his ghost form after all, but it was his ease at being in his ghost form that rattled him.  

Was he really dead now? Fully this time?   

After the accident, when he was in his ghost form for too long, he could feel his human half fidget. He felt comfortable in both forms yes, but his human half felt like Pjs while his ghost side felt like pants.  

This felt too comfortable. Too natural.  

He couldn’t feel his human half anymore.

Asleep In The Keep-Chapter 2

DPxMHA crossover Fic

Chapter 2: Wake Up

Summary: Danny wakes up in the Keep, but he is not the same

Word Count: 1523

Only blackness surrounded Danny, it’s tethers wrapping around his body and pulling him down into nothingness. He could do nothing, still too tired and heavy from the fight as it ate him whole. He felt it all around him, but also felt nothing.  

No pain. No fear. No sadness.  

It hummed around him, shaking everything inside it. Danny stopped fighting and let go. The Nothing felt nice. Everything had finally stopped. Danny no longer had a body–or maybe this was his body? He could no longer tell. What was certain is that he was no longer anything at all. He was nothing. The void seemed to understand his acceptance and it held him closer. It felt like a mother’s hug. Something shifted within and warmth radiated everywhere. It crept in and he felt strength filling his limp body. But the Nothing was strong. It closed his eyes and held him, whispering empty words of sleep and rest. Danny listened, unable to do anything else, not that he would. 

He was no longer aware of what was happening to himself. He was no longer aware at all. He just was.  

Time was moving too fast or too slow. It didn’t exist. But something changed. 

White started to seep out from the black, slowly spreading like glue and sticking all over. It reached wherever Danny existed, and it finally started to wrap around him too. It was cold, but Danny didn’t feel like he was in danger. It crept up his body, flowing into every vein, weaving through every muscle. Then it reached his eyes and… 

Danny woke up.  

He shot up from the green sheets that encased him. Everything felt too much and too sudden. He breathed in deeply, but no air came in or out. He rubbed his head, confusion swirling around. He couldn’t remember what happened. Everything was far away and hazy, like waking up with a dream still fresh in your mind. He didn’t know how long his eyes were open until he finally processed what he was seeing. He recognized the green of the Ghost Zone, how everything was blurry at the edges, like they were trying to remember what they were supposed to be.  

His memory hit him like a bucket of cold water.  

He had fought Pariah Dark. 

He had won. 

Sam, Tucker, Jazz sitting around him. 

He died in their arms. 

This wasn’t right.  

He Shouldn’t be here! Danny ran through the halls of the Keep. He was deeper than he was last time. Was it yesterday? Everything was still hazy. Things looked different in the Keep too. It had the same green candles and medieval flare, but it wasn’t as dark and oppressive as when he first entered. The air (if the Ghost Zone even had air) felt lighter. Like it welcomed him.

Danny didn’t know how he was still alive. Was he alive? He didn’t feel alive, but he also didn’t feel dead? He felt energized! Like if you got stabbed and the adrenaline kicks in. Almost alive, but not for long. He was ready to die, and gladly did so, he was at peace with that. He had plenty of time to mourn his own death after the accident. He didn’t want to go, but he accepted it, like dying in a plane crash but not having it any other way.  

Danny just didn’t expect to wake up is all.  

Ghost Zone physics didn’t help his confusion. He ran through room to room as easily as a human could in the Realm. It felt so natural. That he was supposed to be alive. Was he? Or maybe his fucked up biology carried over to his ‘after life’. 

He was a freak as a human and as a ghost.  

After ceaselessly running, Danny made it to a familiar unfamiliar room. He made his way through the throne room, slow and quiet in his steps. The gentle glow of the Ghost Zone shown through what were once barred windows, were now stained-glass windows. Each one depicted a different story or legend that he didn’t know, but he did recognize a few of the figures like Frostbite and Pandora. His eyes traveled up the walls to the ceiling where the most elaborate piece was displayed. His mouth was open in awe and confusion. It depicted a constellation forming a figure eerily similar to his own, wearing a crown. He knew deep down, it wasn’t a coincidence. Danny knew who it was but didn’t let it crawl to the surface. 

The multicolored glow from the skylight traveled down and danced atop the throne like motes. It wasn’t made of bones like before but was finely sculpted out of metal and ice. On the soft looking green cushion, lay the Crown. It sat there like a sleeping cat in a sunbeam. As if it were that harmless.  

Displayed behind the throne was the sarcophagus, like Pariah Dark could crack it open to whisper corrupting thoughts in its occupants ear.  

Danny's spine went rigid. Being in the room set off every human instinct still in him to leave, or maybe even ghost, the memory of the King could not be so easily forgotten. But something pulled his core along, like a finger wrapping around a string. It wasn’t him. But it was. He walked closer and closer to the throne. He was possessing himself. His numb hands reached out to the crown. When his fingers kissed the metal, he felt the same shock he did when he died. Danny collapsed.  

When Danny opened his eyes again, the crown was gone. His left arm felt sore and itchy in his veins. He could feel his Lichtenberg scar burn under his hazmat suit, no doubt red and angry. He scratched over them, the sensation traveling upward, deep in his veins. Danny stared back at the throne, still clutching his arm, afraid to turn his back on it anymore. He backed towards the door, slowly, like moving too fast would cause something to leap out and devour him.  

He backed into something hard. The soft clanging of metal rang out as Danny turned to make eye contact with the Dark Knight. Neither of them moved for a moment as they stared each other down. Fright Knight’s form shifted, and Danny jumped back into a fighting stance, an ecto-blast burning under his skin. Fright Knight did not falter. In one swift motion…he bowed. His head down and a hand over to his once beating heart.  

Danny couldn’t handle this. Everything was moving too fast, and the walls were getting closer and closer. He ran past the knight. His Knight, something whispered.  

He had to get home.  

★ 

When Danny made it outside the Keep, he didn’t hesitate to fly away. He felt lighter, no longer under the oppressive atmosphere of the castle (even if a part of him felt relaxed in the dark halls). He looked back, only once. A part of him wanted to return, to go back to the throne room and put on the...Danny shook himself out of the thought. Must be a ghost thing.  

His ghostly form felt different. He was lighter and able to fly faster than he was before. All things to think about later.  

The Ghost Zone was constantly shifting, but Danny was able to feel where he was supposed to go. It hadn’t always been like that, every ghost knew their way around the Realms, despite it always moving. It wasn’t as obvious to him when he first ‘died’. He had to rely on other means like the spectral speeder or infi-map until he could recognize the patterns (even that wasn’t perfect). From what he could tell, Vlad had similar issues, although he was too proud to admit it. But now? Now Danny knew where to go. It wasn’t a guess or a gut feeling, but if someone had just asked him where his bedroom was.  

He could feel the Ghost Zone now, too. His fingers felt the wisps of the realm flow through them like it was a stream going around rocks. He could feel how the Zone breathed and moved, like it was rolling around in its sleep. Had the other ghosts felt this too? He felt like it was a part of himself, his core humming with the melodic rise and fall of the Zone.  

(Maybe it was humming with him). 

His flying slowed as he calmed down. He had never felt so at peace before. Not at home or otherwise. It was easy to get distracted, to just float along the current of existence here.  

But he couldn’t.  

He didn’t know how long he was dead asleep for. He had to get home. To see Sam and Tucker and Jazz. To make sure everyone was still safe.  

The Ghost Zone seemed to nod to him. He felt something shift in front of him. There was no portal, just a light behind a crack. Slowly, he dug his fingers in and ripped it apart like saran wrap. He could hear cars and the bustle of a city beyond.  He was going home.